We speak with leading marine toxicologist Riki Ott about the BP oil gusher and its ongoing devastation; also, self-proclaimed zionists threaten a local activist and attack his outdoor business on Telegraph avenue in Berkeley; and we send Nora Barrows Friedman on her next ventures with lots of love and wishes of luck as she transitions away from Flashpoints.

Renowned author and social critic Michael Parenti debates military historian Victor Hansen about the state of US imperialism and globalization; also, JR and the Block Report talk about Imam Luqman Abdullah, killed by Detroit police and the FBI in 2008; and political prisoner and journalist Mumia Abu Jamal talks about the Tea Party movement in this country.

A Palestinian teenager sits outside a protest tent in Silwan, next to a site where Israeli settlers are excavating a tunnel. (Jonathan Cook, Electronic Intifada)

Rene Saucedo of the San Francisco Day Labor Center reports back from City Hall on a day of protest against Arizona’s racist, anti-immigrant legislation SB 1070; also, Israel plans to build more illegal settlement colonies in occupied East Jerusalem as Palestinians face violent repression by settlers and Israeli forces; we’ll have an in-depth discussion on the state of emergency facing Haitians three months after the devastating earthquake as relief and food runs out; and commentaries by death row journalist Mumia Abu Jamal.

Palestinian-American novelist Susan Abulhawa focuses on the ongoing refugee struggle in her new novel, Mornings in Jenin; also, Evelina Molina speaks with Arnoldo Garcia of the National Network of Immigrant and Refugee Rights about new, racist crackdowns on migrant workers in Arizona; and JR and the Block Report talk about how the state and local governments avoid the root causes of violence through the implementation of racial profiling and gang injunctions.

ICE continues to expand its crackdown on migrant workers, their families and supporters, we’ll speak with Rene Saucedo about how the Obama administration is even worse than Bush when it comes to these persecuted workers; also, a Salvadoran leader and indigenous chief talks about his return to El Salvador and his fight to protect original language and agriculture; we’ll also report on a major change just announced by the Sierra Club which has come down four-square against the US-Mexico wall; and Flashpoints in Espanol will also talk about El Salvador and the wall.

Former Minister and current filmmaker and muckraker Kevin Annett goes to Rome to confront the Pope at the Vatican over its child molestation coverup; also, JR and the Block Report interview a lifer at Solano Prison in California, who talks about the lack of education inside prison and the cycle of violence within the criminal injustice system; and the Block Report also speaks with a team of Cuban-trained medical doctors just back from Haiti, who address the global politics of medicine and humanitarian relief.

Maoist rebels attack and kill more than 70 policemen in central India after the government unleashes a campaign to seize land and hunt down the group’s leaders, we’ll re-broadcast excerpts of an interview with legendary Indian essayist and novelist Arundhati Roy, who talks about the struggle in context; and we’ll re-play a Flashpoints investigation into expanding lethal Israeli attacks against Palestinian children.

Today on Flashpoints, In Afghanistan, US Drone massacres and cvilian killings on the rise. Also, is the state of Texas about to kill another innocent man? And JR and the Block Report interview an anti-police violence activist facing felony charges for protesting the New Year’s Day police murder of Oscar Grant.

Israelis have announced new settlement construction while Obama is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Netenayu. We’ll speak with Ali Abunimah and report on the powerful AIPAC meeting. Also, we’ll hear from doctors and nurses about the health care bill signed into law today. And we’ll speak to a former death row prisoner about his work against the death penalty.

Nearly a month after the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti, hundreds of thousands of Haitians are still in need of basic life and death necessities, we’ll continue our on the ground reporting with our special correspondent Kevin Pina; also, investigating corporations that continue to finance the illegal Israeli occupation of Palestine; plus, JR and the Block Report sit down with death row journalist Mumia abu Jamal, who was recently put on the fast track to the death house by the US Supreme Court; and we’ll hear from Pam Africa who is leading the international battle to free Mumia.

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About

Flashpoints is an award-winning daily investigative newsmagazine broadcast on the national Pacifica Radio network. Through original reports and some of the key investigative reporters of our time, Flashpoints goes to the frontlines and to the core of the stories in the areas of government and corporate criminality, human rights, and economic justice. From Baghdad to the US-Mexico border, Palestine to San Francisco, Port-au-Prince to Washington DC, Flashpoints monitors the centers of power as an uncensored platform of independent media.

Musicians!!

We're searching for great new music produced by independent musicians and members of our global audience, so that we can be as non-corporate and copyright-free as possible. All genres -- from blues to electronica to world beats -- welcome!

We like smart, political and well-produced music -- and are especially in search of possible new theme instrumentals. Please send it to Flashpoints, c/o KPFA, 1929 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Berkeley, CA 94704, or email your Mp3s at flashpointsproducer@gmail.com with full descriptions and credits.